Brothers, husbands, heroes

Sunday

Jul 7, 2013 at 12:01 AM

They were leaders.

The Associated Press

They were leaders.

They were compassionate friends.

They were jokesters.

They were husbands.

They were fathers and fathers-to-be.

They were the 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, based in Prescott, Ariz., who were killed June 30 when a windblown wildfire overcame them north of Phoenix. It marked the deadliest single day for U.S. firefighters since 9/11.

It is sad and depressing when any of those involved in law enforcement and public safety loses their lives. For 19 to perish at once is an unthinkable tragedy.

With credit to Associated Press reporters Raquel Maria Dillon, Sue Manning, Felicia Fonseca and Hannah Dreier, we would like to use our Editorial Page today to let you know these 19 heroes a bit more personally.

Andrew Ashcraft: Athletic, go-getter

Prescott High School physical education teacher and coach Lou Beneitone taught many of the Hotshots, and remembered Andrew Ashcraft, 29, as a fitness-oriented student.

"He had some athletic ability in him, and he was a go-getter, too. You could pretty much see, from young freshman all the way, he was going to be physically active."

Beneitone said athletic prowess was a must for the Hotshots. "That's what it takes. You gotta be very physically fit, and you gotta like it, gotta like the hard work."

Ashcraft left behind a wife, Juliann, and four children.

Robert Caldwell: The Smart One

Friends characterized Robert Caldwell, 23, as the smart man in the bunch.

"He was really smart. He had a good sense of humor," said Chase Madrid, who worked as a Hotshot for two years but sat this year out.

"He was one of the smart guys in the crew who could get the weather, figure out the mathematics. It was just natural for him," Madrid said.

It was Caldwell's intelligence and know-how that got him appointed as a squad boss.

"Robert was a gentle giant - he was a man of few words," said his aunt, Laurie McKee.

He had just gotten married in November, and had a 5-year-old stepson.

Travis Carter: Strong and humble

At Captain Crossfit, a gym near the firehouse where the Hotshots were stationed, Travis Carter was known as the strongest one on the crew - but also the most humble.

"No one could beat him," trainer Janine Pereira said. "But the thing about him was he would never brag about it."

Carter, 31, was famous for once holding a plank for 45 minutes, and he was notorious for making up brutal workouts.

The crew recently did a 5-mile run during wilderness training. He then made them go to Captain Crossfit in the afternoon for another hard workout.

Dustin DeFord: Dry sense of humor

Dustin DeFord, 24, had been a firefighter since he turned 18 and started as a volunteer in tiny Ekalaka, Mont. His father, the Rev. Steve DeFord, said the outpouring of support there has been unbelievable.

"We've got enough food in the house to last a year," he said.

DeFord graduated from Cornerstone Bible Institute in Hot Springs, S.D., three years ago, his father said, and always believed God was his guiding force.

DeFord is survived by nine brothers and sisters, including a Marine Corps staff sergeant who is traveling home from Afghanistan, an older brother who is fighting fires with a helicopter team in New Mexico and a younger brother on a Hotshot crew in Alaska.

Chris MacKenzie: "Just like his dad"

An avid snowboarder, Chris MacKenzie, 30, grew up in the San Jacinto Valley, where he was a 2001 graduate of Hemet High School and a former member of the town's Fire Department.

He joined the U.S. Forest Service in 2004, then transferred two years ago to the Prescott Fire Department, longtime friend Dav Fulford-Brown told The Riverside Press-Enterprise.

MacKenzie, like at least one other member of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, had followed his father into firefighting. Michael MacKenzie, a former Moreno Valley Fire Department captain, confirmed he had been informed of his son's death.

"I can't talk about it," he said.

Eric Marsh: Hooked on firefighting

Eric Marsh, 43, was an avid mountain biker who grew up in Ashe County, N.C., and became hooked on firefighting while studying at Appalachian State University, said Leanna Racquer, the ex-wife of his cousin.

Marsh lived with Racquer and her then-husband during the winters from 1992 through 1996 in North Carolina, but returned to Arizona during fire season.

After college, he kept working as a firefighter, eventually landing a full-time job and settling in northern Arizona.

He even moved his parents to the state, she said. Marsh was superintendent of the Hotshot crew and the oldest of the 19 who died. Marsh was married but had no children.

Grant McKee: Giving nature

Grant McKee, 21, loved to give things away.

"Even as a child, I'd ask him where things were, and he'd say, 'Oh, such and such liked it.' And sometimes it really cost a lot! But he'd say, 'Oh, he liked it so much,' " said his grandmother, Mary Hoffmann.

"So on his birthday, I started to say, 'I hope you're going to keep this!' " she said.

McKee's cousin, Robert Caldwell, also was a Hotshot and also was killed.

"I had four grandchildren, but Grant was the sweetest most giving nature of any of my grandkids," Hoffman said. "We used to think he was a little angel."

Sean Misner: Heart and desire

Sean Misner, 26, leaves behind a wife who is seven months pregnant, said Mark Swanitz, principal of Santa Ynez Valley Union High School in Santa Barbara County, where Misner graduated in 2005.

Misner played varsity football and also participated in the school's sports medicine program, where he wrapped sprained ankles and took care of sidelined athletes.

"He was a team player, a real helper," Swanitz said.

In high school, Misner played several positions, including wide receiver and defensive back. He was slim for a high school football player, but that didn't stop him from tackling his opponents, recalled retired football coach Ken Gruendyke.

Scott Norris: Ideal gentleman

Scott Norris, 28, was known around Prescott through his part-time job at Bucky O'Neill Guns.

"Here in Arizona the gun shops are a lot like barbershops. Sometimes you don't go in there to buy anything at all, you just go to talk," resident William O'Hara said. "I never heard a dirty word out of the guy. He was the kind of guy who if he dated your daughter, you'd be OK with it.

"He was just a model of a young, ideal American gentleman."

Wade Parker: Second generation

At 22, Wade Parker had just joined the Hotshots team. His father works for the nearby Chino Valley Fire Department, said retired Prescott Fire Department Capt. Jeff Knotek, who had known Wade since he was "just a little guy."

The younger Parker had been very excited about being part of the Hotshot crew, Knotek said.

"He was another guy who wanted to be a second-generation firefighter," Knotek said.

John Percin, Jr.: Strong and brave

He loved baseball and had an unforgettable laugh. In his aunt's eyes, John Percin Jr. was, simply, an "amazing young man."

"He was probably the strongest and bravest young man I have ever met in my life," Donna Percin Pederson said from her home in Portland, Ore.

Percin, 24, was a multisport high school athlete who graduated in 2007 from West Linn High School, southeast of Portland.

Anthony Rose: Blossomed as fireman

Anthony Rose, 23, grew up in Wisconsin and previously worked as a firefighter in nearby Crown King before moving on to become a Hotshot.

"He did so well and helped so much in Crown King," he said. "We were all so very proud of him"

Flores said the town was planning a fundraiser for Rose's family and hoped to also have a memorial to honor him.

"He was the kind of guy that his smile lit up the whole room and everyone would just rally around him," he said.

Jesse Steed: Morale builder

Jesse Steed's former colleagues remember him as a joker.

"He was a character. If you look at all the old photos of him, he was doing things to make people laugh," said Cooper Carr, who worked with Steed in the Hotshots from 2001 to 2003.

"He was good at impressions, and he sang songs; he was just great for morale. He'd just talk in a funny voice and have us all in stitches," Carr said. "And he was strong as an ox."

Steed, 36, was one of the older members of the crew. Renton, Wash., police Officer Cassidy Steed said his brother "always put his life on the line for people who he knew he would never meet."

Joe Thurston: Daring and determined

Back home in Cedar City, Utah, Joe Thurston, 32, used to go to an area reservoir with friends and promptly show how fearless he could be.

"He was definitely one of the daredevil types," longtime friend Scott Goodrich told the Salt Lake Tribune. "We went to Quail (Creek) Reservoir, and we'd be finding 40- to 50-foot cliffs that people would be scared to jump off. He would just show up and be front-flipping off of them."

He brought this bold streak to the Granite Mountain Hotshots.

"He had all the qualities that a firefighter would need to possess," E.J. Overson, another friend, told the Salt Lake City newspaper.

Travis Turbyfill: Big, huge Marine

Known as "Turby" among crew members, Travis Turbyfill got a full-time position with the Hotshots when another member's girlfriend asked him to quit.

Turbyfill, 27, often worked with other Hotshots at Captain Crossfit, a warehouse filled with mats, obstacle courses, climbing walls and acrobatic rings near the firehouse. He would train in the morning and then return in the afternoon with his wife and kids.

Tony Burris, another trainer, said he enjoyed watching Turby with his two daughters.

"Because he's this big, huge Marine, Hotshot guy, and he has two little girls - reddish-blond curly hair - and they just loved their dad," he said.

Billy Warneke: 'Doing what he loved'

Billy Warneke, 25, and his wife, Roxanne, were expecting their first child in December, his grandmother, Nancy Warneke, told The Press-Enterprise newspaper in Riverside.

Warneke grew up in Hemet along with his fellow Granite Mountain Hotshot Chris MacKenzie. He was a four-year Marine Corps veteran who served a tour in Iraq and had joined the Hotshot crew in April, buying a property in Prescott, near where his sister lived, the newspaper reported.

Nancy Warneke said she called her sister after seeing the fire on the news.

"She said, 'He's gone. They're all gone,' " Nancy Warneke said.

Clayton Whitted: A big smile

Full of heart and determination, Clayton Whitted, 28, might not have been the biggest guy around, but he was among the hardest-working. His former Prescott High School coach, Lou Beneitone, said Whitted was a "wonderful kid" who always had a big smile on his face. Whitted played for the football team as an offensive and defensive lineman.

"He was a smart young man with a great personality, just a wonderful personality," said Beneitone. Beneitone said Whitted loved being a firefighter and was well-respected among his crew.

Kevin Woyjeck: Following his father

For Kevin Woyjeck, 21, the fire station was a second home. His father, Capt. Joe Woyjeck, is a nearly 30-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Keith Mora, an inspector with that agency, said Kevin often accompanied his dad to the station and on ride-alongs and always intended to follow in his footsteps.

Mora remembered the younger Woyjeck as a "joy to be around," a man who always had a smile on his face.

He had been trained as an EMT and worked as an Explorer, which is a mentorship training program to become a professional firefighter.

Garret Zuppiger: Sense of humor

Garret Zuppiger, 27, loved to be funny, said Tony Burris, a trainer at a gym where many of the Hotshots worked out.

Burris said the two bonded over their manly ginger facial hair.

"We both had a red beard and so we would always admire each other's beards," he said. "We also had a few conversations about beer."

He earned an Arizona general education curriculum-arts degree in liberal arts from Pima Community College in 2006. Then he went onto the University of Arizona to study business economics, graduating in 2008.

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